October 26, 2005 11:58 pm
by B. Murakawa
Summary: Leonardo knows what he needs to do to avenge his master's death, but actually doing it may prove too much for the Fearless Leader.


Summary: Leonardo knows what he _needs_ to do to avenge his master's death, but actually _doing_ it may prove too much for the Fearless Leader.

Rating: PG (may go up)

Warnings: character death (noooooo!), angst, obscure Japanese quotes

Notes: this is just a little vignette at the moment...I do plan to continue it, but then again, maybe not. Because I'm still new to this fandom, and my muses are high half the time. _Italics _mean the characters are speaking in Japanese.

Disclaimer: I can't put my finger on it exactly, but for some reason I get the weird feeling that _I don't own the Turtles_! It's bizarre!

**October 26, 2005 11:58 pm **

_by Becky Murakawa_

"It's important that I get this right," he said.

Oroku Karai crossed her arms, not looking at him. She was staring over the edge of the Used Appliances! CHEAP!! store that they had chosen as a suitable rendezvous point, technically in her territory but far enough away from HQ that the chance of any of her people finding them there was minimal. Her dark eyes glittered, reflecting the city lights. Leonardo swallowed and tried not to lose his nerve. He drew his _katana_, but did not extend the blades towards his enemy. He couldn't bring himself to do that quite yet, though he knew that before this night was over, they would taste her blood.

"_Oroku Karai_," he said, the name curdling strangely in his mouth. "_I, Hamato Leonardo, have come to avenge my master's death. Now is your chance to redeem your honor and commit seppuku_."

Karai continued to observe the city, expressionless. "_I decline, Hamato Leonardo_."

He thought of her "father", who had answered much the same way once upon a time. Only her father had not fought fairly, and Leonardo knew that she would. It helped steel his resolve. He ignored the gentle slope of her shoulders, the soft curve of her cheek, and focused on the strength of her long hands as they curled around the hilt of her sword.

Without another word, Leonardo threw himself into the fight. The first clash of his blades against hers resounded over the sounds of traffic below.

"I won't hesitate--ah!--to kill you this time, Leonardo," she said. He thought he imagined the note of almost-desperation in her voice.

"I _know_," he replied, pushing her efficiently back against the roof's edge. She leapt away like solid lightening. Her black hair whipped forward, framing her youthful face for a moment. "'_Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp the long and the short swords and to die_.'"

"Kata Kiyomasa," she noted approvingly.

He lunged and nicked her sword arm. Her quiet curse both pleased and unnerved him. He _could not_ hesitate, damnit! This was his duty. This was his destiny.

Karai weighed less than Leonardo, and was slightly faster--she got in a good slice at his plastron, which left him bleeding profusely, but in the process left her side open to Leonardo's _katana_, which took full advantage. She stubbornly ignored the deep wound, but couldn't help but favor her right side more. She was off balance now, and Leonardo was sure he could finish her.

No hesitation, he thought, blocking a volley of punches and executing a perfect spinning kick that brought her to her knees. His _katana_ were at her throat. He couldn't move. The pounding of his own blood in his ears was deafening. Her eyes were on him, dark and bright at the same time.

_A warrior must always _strike_ at the given opportunity_, Master Splinter's voice came back to him. Image of his master standing over him, staff immobilizing Leonardo's _katana_. His master had seemed so much _bigger_ than him then. _Even a moment's hesitation may be the difference between success or failure at achieving one's goal, my son_.

"Why did you do it?" he asked quietly. The sharp edge of his blade pressed slightly harder against her skin, drawing forth a pale line of blood.

"Chuugi," she said. Loyalty.

"'_One should not love those who are evil_.'"

She smiled bitterly. "Imagawa Ryoshun."

"The Shredder--he deserved to die. Karai." He said her name sadly. "Karai, he was not an honorable man."

"I know," she said. "But I am an honorable woman." _Oh God, yes_. "It was my duty to avenge him, just as it is _your_ duty to avenge your master." Suddenly, she grabbed at his _katana_, the edges slicing into her long fingers, pushed them away from her throat as she expertly swept Leonardo's feet out from under him. He was on his knees, but poised to attack in less than half a second, but she had managed to bring her sword to his throat, and this time it was she who stood over him. "Now," she said coldly, "_This one is giving you the chance to redeem your honor by committing seppuku_."

Leonardo numbly accepted the short blade she extended to him. It was light-weight, easily concealed. He tried to remember the proper form and for a moment couldn't. Then formality took over, and he positioned the blade over his abdomen.

_Warriors used to compose death poems_, he thought hazily. _Sensei... _

He thrust.

Those long fingers closed over his at the last moment, deflecting the blow from its deadly intent. The blade glanced off his plastron, leaving a long, shallow wound that barely registered over the heat of her hands against his. He stared at them, pale and pinkish and leaking dark blood against his own olive green skin. His breath was coming hard and fast.

"N-no," he shuddered. "No, Karai, I _have_ to--"

"Leonardo--" She squeezed his tight fist around the short sword's hilt, trying to get him to drop it. The chill was gone from her voice, which was low and intense and kept breaking over the syllables of his name. "Leonardo!"

Master Splinter, taking the blade for his eldest son.

"It was meant for _me_, oh God, _I should have died in his place_--" The Japanese stumbled out over the English, his normally cool baritone husky and deep with agony. "_Why did you have to miss_? Why, Karai? _You're better than that_--"

"Hamato Le--"

"_Let me do it or let me kill you_," he yelled, pushing her to the ground with all his strength. "_I killed my master now let me avenge him_!"

"Leonardo, you did not kill him!" She tried to see his eyes beyond the mask but couldn't. The blade was against her throat again. He hesitated for the second time that night. "Your master chose to die," she said breathlessly, crushed by his weight. "You--" She gasped. "You have defeated me in fair combat. I tried to avenge my father by killing you--and I killed your master instead. Leonardo, I am not sorry."

Something in him caught the lie and broke a little. He touched her face with the hand not holding the short sword. His fingers trembled slightly, the jilted shadows playing over her sharp cheekbones. She leaned into his warmth.

"Karai, I can't--"

She didn't look away.


End file.
